Privy Council and related bodies: America and West Indies, Colonial Papers (General Series)
Item
Country
GB
Name of institution (official language of the state)
Language of name of institution
eng
Contact information: postal address
Kew, Richmond TW9 4DU London
Contact information: phone number
0044 020 8876 3444
Contact information: web address
Contact information: email
Reference number
CO 1
Type of reference number
Archival reference number
Title (official language of the state)
Privy Council and related bodies: America and West Indies, Colonial Papers (General Series)
Language of title
eng
Creator / accumulator
Privy Council
Date(s)
1574/1757
Language(s)
eng
Extent
69 volumes
Type of material
Textual Material
Scope and content
This collection is part of the subdivision of the Colonial Office fonds that comprises correspondence with the colonies, entry books, and registers of correspondence relating to the administration of individual colonies, as well as a few records of governments of colonial and mandated territories that were sent to London for various reasons. It includes documentation related
to the American and West Indian colonies and contains some records of the Board of Trade. It virtually ends in 1688, after which date most of the American papers are to be found in CO 5 (Board of Trade and Secretaries of State: America and West Indies, Original Correspondence), and the West Indian ones in CO 318 (Colonial Office and Predecessors: West Indies Original Correspondence) and under the various colonies.
Information on Sephardic Jews settled in British Colonial America and the Caribbean can be found in the numerous records contained in this series. Some examples are the following:
CO 1/15: petition of Jacob Jeosua Bueno Enriques, a Jamaican Jew, to the King, for a license to work a copper mine in Jamaica if he can discover it. He has heard about this mine from a former Spanish resident on the island, c. 1661 (no. 74). This petition is followed by a report of the Council for Foreign Plantations to the King on the pros and cons of improving the rights and privileges of the Jews in Jamaica for the development of the island's trade. July 24, 1661 (no. 75). Bueno Henriques' petition was published by Friedenwald (1897).
CO 1/18, no. 68: letter from Col. Thomas Lynch to Lord Arlington mentioning a gold-finding Jew named Abram Israel de Pisa who had sailed for England, and left in Jamaica ore and directions to find gold. May 25, 1664.
CO 1/21, no. 170: Observations on Barbados, including on an alleged Jews plot against English interests in the island. 1667. See Calendar State Papers 5.
CO 1/23, no. 4: order of the King to seize two ships laden for Barbados on account of Jews and others of Amsterdam, with an annexed letter regarding the same subject. December 1668. On the same subject, see also CO 1/24, no. 4.
CO 1/28, no. 63: petition of the merchants of Port Royal to Sir Thomas Lynch, Governor of Jamaica, complaining about the inconveniences of the great number of Jews who daily resort to Jamaica and trade there. June 11, 1672.
CO 1/36, no. 23: order of the King in Council, on a petition of Aaron de Sylva, Isaac Pereira, and Jews living in Surinam, who were made free denizens by letters patent to leave Surinam with their servants and belongings freely to any English colony. February 11, 1676. Other documentation on the Dutch occupation of Surinam and the leaving of British subjects of Jewish origin are in CO 35, no. 28, CO 36, no. 74.
CO 1/37, no. 22: letter from Jonathan Atkins, Governor of Barbados, to the Lords of Trade and Plantations, mentioning, among other matters, that there were not more than 30 Jewish families of Dutch extraction from Brazil. Atkins mentions that they were very poor but the "the better sort" have been made denizens. July 4, 1676. See Calendar of State Papers 9.
CO 1/44: includes the Barbados Census of 1680, the most comprehensive surviving census of any English colony in the 17th century, which refers to several Jews living on the island. Samuel (1932) published a survey of these Jewish settlers. See also Hotten (1874) and Adler (1893).
CO 1/45, fols. 96-107: Census of Port Royal of 1680, which includes references to Jews living in this Jamaica port. Published in Faber (1998).
CO 1/47, no. 6: petition of certain inhabitants of Barbados to the Assembly, requesting it to present to Sir Richard Dutton "the barbarous inhumanity and subtle conspiracy of the Jewish nation in general against all Christendom, and particularly against England". June 9, 1681.
CO 1/49, no. 59: letter from Richard Dutton to Lords of Trade and Plantations, reporting a trial involving Anthony Rodriguez, a Jew who provided guns to the English army. November 15, 1682. More on this case in CO 1/48, no. 59.
CO 1/51, nos. 76-77: letter from Benjamin Baruch Carvallo, from Curaçao to Thomas Lynch, describing how he left Jamaica on June 30, 1683, how he was taken off Curaçao by a Spanish vessel with a commission from the Governor of Havana, and how he was cruelly treated, tortured, and robbed by these pirates, for which he craves the Governor's help for redress. August 29, 1683. More on this case in CO 1/53, no. 101.
to the American and West Indian colonies and contains some records of the Board of Trade. It virtually ends in 1688, after which date most of the American papers are to be found in CO 5 (Board of Trade and Secretaries of State: America and West Indies, Original Correspondence), and the West Indian ones in CO 318 (Colonial Office and Predecessors: West Indies Original Correspondence) and under the various colonies.
Information on Sephardic Jews settled in British Colonial America and the Caribbean can be found in the numerous records contained in this series. Some examples are the following:
CO 1/15: petition of Jacob Jeosua Bueno Enriques, a Jamaican Jew, to the King, for a license to work a copper mine in Jamaica if he can discover it. He has heard about this mine from a former Spanish resident on the island, c. 1661 (no. 74). This petition is followed by a report of the Council for Foreign Plantations to the King on the pros and cons of improving the rights and privileges of the Jews in Jamaica for the development of the island's trade. July 24, 1661 (no. 75). Bueno Henriques' petition was published by Friedenwald (1897).
CO 1/18, no. 68: letter from Col. Thomas Lynch to Lord Arlington mentioning a gold-finding Jew named Abram Israel de Pisa who had sailed for England, and left in Jamaica ore and directions to find gold. May 25, 1664.
CO 1/21, no. 170: Observations on Barbados, including on an alleged Jews plot against English interests in the island. 1667. See Calendar State Papers 5.
CO 1/23, no. 4: order of the King to seize two ships laden for Barbados on account of Jews and others of Amsterdam, with an annexed letter regarding the same subject. December 1668. On the same subject, see also CO 1/24, no. 4.
CO 1/28, no. 63: petition of the merchants of Port Royal to Sir Thomas Lynch, Governor of Jamaica, complaining about the inconveniences of the great number of Jews who daily resort to Jamaica and trade there. June 11, 1672.
CO 1/36, no. 23: order of the King in Council, on a petition of Aaron de Sylva, Isaac Pereira, and Jews living in Surinam, who were made free denizens by letters patent to leave Surinam with their servants and belongings freely to any English colony. February 11, 1676. Other documentation on the Dutch occupation of Surinam and the leaving of British subjects of Jewish origin are in CO 35, no. 28, CO 36, no. 74.
CO 1/37, no. 22: letter from Jonathan Atkins, Governor of Barbados, to the Lords of Trade and Plantations, mentioning, among other matters, that there were not more than 30 Jewish families of Dutch extraction from Brazil. Atkins mentions that they were very poor but the "the better sort" have been made denizens. July 4, 1676. See Calendar of State Papers 9.
CO 1/44: includes the Barbados Census of 1680, the most comprehensive surviving census of any English colony in the 17th century, which refers to several Jews living on the island. Samuel (1932) published a survey of these Jewish settlers. See also Hotten (1874) and Adler (1893).
CO 1/45, fols. 96-107: Census of Port Royal of 1680, which includes references to Jews living in this Jamaica port. Published in Faber (1998).
CO 1/47, no. 6: petition of certain inhabitants of Barbados to the Assembly, requesting it to present to Sir Richard Dutton "the barbarous inhumanity and subtle conspiracy of the Jewish nation in general against all Christendom, and particularly against England". June 9, 1681.
CO 1/49, no. 59: letter from Richard Dutton to Lords of Trade and Plantations, reporting a trial involving Anthony Rodriguez, a Jew who provided guns to the English army. November 15, 1682. More on this case in CO 1/48, no. 59.
CO 1/51, nos. 76-77: letter from Benjamin Baruch Carvallo, from Curaçao to Thomas Lynch, describing how he left Jamaica on June 30, 1683, how he was taken off Curaçao by a Spanish vessel with a commission from the Governor of Havana, and how he was cruelly treated, tortured, and robbed by these pirates, for which he craves the Governor's help for redress. August 29, 1683. More on this case in CO 1/53, no. 101.
Archival history
Until the early 19th century, the papers for each colony were stored loose in roughly chronological order. From then until 1926, they were bound in volumes by colony in order of registration under various broad divisions: governor (or dispatches), offices (i.e. correspondence with other departments), individuals, etc. In 1926, these volumes gave way to numbered subject files. At first, the numbers allocated to each colony and subject changed each year, but from 1935 to 1951, standard numbers were employed.
As the importance of the subject departments grew, the amount of correspondence relating strictly to any particular country declined. Accordingly, between 1951 and 1953, the Colonial Office reorganised its registry, arranging country correspondence into single classes for each geographical department.
As the importance of the subject departments grew, the amount of correspondence relating strictly to any particular country declined. Accordingly, between 1951 and 1953, the Colonial Office reorganised its registry, arranging country correspondence into single classes for each geographical department.
Administrative / Biographical history
Before 1696 matters concerning the colonies were dealt with primarily by the Privy Council and its committees. The first special body convened to advise on colonial (plantation) questions was the Commission of Trade set up in 1625. From 1696 onwards, colonial affairs were the responsibility of the Board of Trade and the secretaries of state in partnership.
Access points: locations
Access points: persons, families
Access points: subject terms
Access points: document types
System of arrangement
Records are arranged chronologically.
Access, restrictions
Digital copies of selected records can be accessed online. Specific links for the relevant documents are provided at piece or item level.
Links to finding aids
Author of the description
Carla Vieira, 2023
Bibliography
Published primary sources
Linked resources
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| Inhabitants' lists (Barbados) | Existence and location of originals |